I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the delivery of drugs which do not have a palatable taste and where it is undesirable to ingest said drugs in a solid state. Those of ordinary skill in the art would have expertise in taste masking drugs and related products.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Taste masking of drugs through the use of flavors is well known. However, flavoring ingredients are not sufficient to mask certain drugs and vitamins. Therefore, physical means have been developed to encapsulate or place in a chemical barrier these drugs to mask their undesirable taste characteristics.
One such system which has been used for vitamins is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,037,911; 3,080,292; 3,080,293; and 3,279,994. These methods produce products which are in beadlet form. Although these beadlets are effective for taste masking they can cause other difficulties with respect to certain drugs, and types of patients. For instance, patients who have problems taking solid dosage forms cannot utilize drugs produced by this beadlet process.
Also, products, such as, potassium chloride cannot effectively be taken in the beadlet form described by the prior art. Solid forms of potassium chloride are known to lay along the stomach or intestinal lining and ulcerate the stomach or intestinal wall. This ulceration or bleeding of the stomach is a highly undesirable side effect, especially for elderly patients. Thus, the treatment of one affliction causes the occurrence of other serious medical problems.
The present invention is advantageous since it allows the delivery of taste masked particles in a liquid form. It is also advantageous since it is economical and produces a product which has commercially desirable properties. Further it is advantageous since the method of the invention does not effect the active properties of the drug which is being delivered. Other advantages include being able to provide a solid drug form to those who cannot or will not take such drugs especially in large quantities. Finally, it should be noted that the system of the invention meets a long felt need in the art.